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Sunday, December 19, 2010

The fickle world of celebrities sustains its course into having us breakdown their fragrant choices. This time courtesy of Angela Buttolph at Grazia Daily who snaps Kate Beckinsale on a shopping romp for Christmas gifts at the F.Malle counter at Barneys, Los Angeles, decked in her black leggings, her pensive gaze captured for eternity as she sniffs candles in the characteristic red shade canisters of the Home Collection. (Might I also add that it's refreshing to see normal-size thighs on a celebrity instead of sticks?) But much more important in my opinion is the enthusiasm that Angela instils in the piece, as she recounts her own exploration of the Malle line instead, in what transpires as a rite of passage for a fumehead: "Beauty insiders will have been nodding approvingly knowing that Beckinsale has exquisite taste, because those candles aren’t just any candles; they’re candles from the sexiest perfume label on the planet – Frédéric Malle. So look away now if you are a perfume obsessive or have any kind of addiction issues, or have access to a credit card…because I can tell you from personal experience that Malle’s fragrances are more addictive than crack cocaine (and just as pricey a habit)."With poetic references to her favourites, Une Rose (the classic earthy rose in the collection before Portrait of a Lady busted into the scene this season) and En Passant, it's worth a read for anyone who identifies with discovering fragrances that speak to one's soul. What did Kate buy in the end? Who cares...

Elena Vosnaki is executive editor of Fragrantica.gr, the leader in fragrance information in Greek, as well as a senior editor for the top english-speaking Fragrantica.com webzine.

Vosnaki has been Fragrance Expert on About.com and the Perfume History Curator of the Be Open Foundation exhibitionThe Garden of Wonders, A Journey in Scents in Milan. Her writing has been twice shortlisted in the FIFI Editorial Excellence Awards and is extensively quoted by authors. She is an evaluating expert on Osmoz.com.

Perfume Shrine is an award winning blog of 1000s of fragrance reviews (modern, niche, classic, vintage), articles on perfume history and aroma materials, comparisons of scents, interviews with perfumers & the fragrance industry, perfume shopping as well as scented travel memoirs, fine cuisine, tips on building a fragrance wardrobe and musings about the pleasures of the senses.